Now that the fireworks and champagne toasts are done, we at Luminoso Language Services thought we would let you know of some Latino and Spanish traditions for New Years Eve.
A tradition that originated in Spain and is celebrated in many South and Central American countries is burning out the old year to get rid of negative karma from the past year. In some countries, the tradition is to write down the negatives on a piece of paper and burn it; in others people make or buy effigies to burn at midnight.
Another Spanish tradition widely followed in the Americas is eating 12 grapes at midnight – one grape for good luck for each month of the year. You can also make wishes on each grape. This tradition started in Spain in 1895 when grape farmers wanted to sell an over-abundance of grapes.
If you want to travel, people in Venezuela and Colombia believe that walking around the block with a suitcase will increase their chances of travel in the new year. To travel a person needs money, right? In Ecuador celebrants hide money around the house to bring prosperity, in other areas, people put money in their shoes.
What better way to make a clean sweep of the past year than cleaning your house? Families clean their houses so they are spotless by New Year’s Eve.
An ancient Roman tradition was to put lentils in their purses with the hope that they would turn to gold. Lentils are a symbol of of prosperity, so this tradition has translated into eating a bowl of lentils at midnight, or planting or putting lentils in your pocket to keep your finances straight in the coming year.
Windows are symbolic of fresh air, so two traditions that exploit that are: throwing last year’s calendar or a cup of water out the window. If it’s the water, the cup should be carried around the house to collect the bad vibes before it’s tossed.
And finally, your underwear matters! Wearing the following colored underwear on New Years Eve will attract:
- Red: Attracts love, romance, and passion.
- Yellow: Attracts money, prosperity, abundance, and financial stability into your life.
- White: Represents peace, harmony, and calmness.
- Black: Associated with luxury, power, and sexuality.
- Green: The color of health, good luck, and protection. Wear them for all-around good fortune!
- Blue: Believed to bring balance and stability. Good for making that elusive personal project come to life or getting that job you always wanted.
Imagine if you layered them and wore them all what a great year you would have!
Contact us to start you New Year with personal, online Spanish lessons
Feliz Año Nuevo from Luminoso Educational Services!
Cheech Marin’s Chicano Art Museum Opens
We all know Cheech Marin as an actor and one half of the stoner comedy team of Cheech and Chong, but for years he’s also been an avid collector of Chicano art. He’s been collecting art for 40 years and parts of his collection have been touring museums and breaking attendance records during that time.
The collection is now housed in a new museum in Riverside, California. The museum is officially called the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture, but let’s face it, “The Cheech” is much more appealing. It occupies 61,420 square feet in what was formerly Riverside’s main library. Cheech’s collection now numbers 700 pieces of Chicano art. He’s gifted 500 pieces to the museum where there are about 100 pieces currently on display, along with other exhibits.
Cheech’s interest in art started in the 1980’s and he credits his ex-wife, a painter for opening his eyes to contemporary art. He sees the art in his collection as mixture of Mexican art, world art and pop culture.
“It was also art history that I understood, because all these artists were either art school and/or university-trained,” Marin says. “So they weren’t naive backyard artists that did it on weekends — these are really serious artists that were influenced by world art.” He compared seeing the art to hearing the Beatles for the first time – the Beatles filtered American music through their lens and the artists filtered pop culture through a Chicano lens.
The term Chicano came into use in the 1960’s as a political movement for people of Mexican descent to express political empowerment, ethnic solidarity, and pride.
Finding out about Cheech’s other side is rewarding and show’s a different side of his personality and interests. Find a way to express yourself in a second language – contact Luminoso Language Services to learn Spanish at any level.
Descubren una nueva figura en las misteriosas líneas de Nasca en Perú/They discover a new figure in the mysterious Nasca lines in Peru
Uno de los misterios más fascinantes de los antiguos pobladores de América son las figuras gigantes (conocidas como geoglifos) dibujadas en la arena y las montañas del desierto de Nasca, en Perú.
El pasado 15 de octubre, el Ministerio de Cultura de Perú anunció el descubrimiento de un nuevo geoglifo en la Pampa de Nasca que se mantuvo oculto durante 2 mil años:
Se trata de la representación de un felino elaborada hace más de dos mil años y es obra de la cultura Paracas, una sociedad previa a la Nasca que coincide con ella un sinfín de rasgos culturales y se desarrolló en la costa del centro-sur de Perú, a unos 400 kilómetros de Lima.
La figura mide 37 metros de largo y su trazado tiene un ancho de línea de entre 30 y 40 centímetros. Está realizada sobre una colina rocosa que servía como acceso a un mirador en la zona, que permite apreciar más figuras en la cara opuesta de la montaña.
Para el artículo completo, haga clic AQUÍ
A new figure is discovered in the mysterious Nasca lines in Peru
One of the most fascinating mysteries of the ancient settlers of America are the giant figures (known as geoglyphs) drawn in the sand and the mountains of the Nasca desert, in Peru.
On October 15, the Ministry of Culture of Peru announced the discovery of a new geoglyph in the Pampa de Nasca that remained hidden for 2,000 years:
It is the representation of a feline made more than two thousand years ago and it is the work of the Paracas culture, a pre-Nasca society that coincides with endless cultural features and developed on the south-central coast of Peru. , about 400 kilometers from Lima.
The figure is 37 meters long and its outline has a line width of between 30 and 40 centimeters. It is made on a rocky hill that served as access to a viewpoint in the area, which allows you to see more figures on the opposite side of the mountain.
Read the full article in Spanish
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Street Art Entre Las Mareas Más Altas Del Mundo/Street Art Between the Highest Tides In the World
Artist Sean Yoro, better known as “Hula,” painted a 9 x 13 meter mural in New Brunswick, Canada.
Stradivarius: los violines mas caros del mundo/Stradivarius: the most expensive violins in the world
Considerados los mejores del mundo, los violines Stradivarius han sido hechos a mano por el maestro luthier –– persona que construye, ajusta o repara instrumentos de cuerda –– Antonio Stradivari. Nacido en Italia en 1644, su creador dedicó su vida a la elaboración y perfeccionamiento del violín –– un instrumento musical de cuerda de unos 60 cm de largo ––. Un artista que ha alcanzado admiración y reconocimiento desde su muerte hace más de 250 años.
Fabricación de violines únicos
Stradivari diseñó y fabricó más de mil violines e instrumentos durante su vida, casi 650 de los cuales aún existen en la actualidad. Estos instrumentos son considerados los mejores y son muy apreciados por su calidad de sonido única.
El primer violín conocido de Stradivarius se fabricó en 1666, cuando tenía tan solo 22 años. Algunos historiadores resaltan que Antonio fue aprendiz de Nicolo Amati, nieto del fabricante de violines Andrea Amati (1511-1577), quien le enseñó el oficio de la madera.
Durante el inicio de su carrera, Stradivari creó violines al clásico estilo Amati. Sin embargo, incluso utilizando técnicas tradicionales, su habilidad y talento fue impresionante. Por ejemplo, el violín Hellier producido por Stradivari en 1679 revela su inigualable habilidad para fabricar un instrumento musical.
En la década de 1680, Stradivari diseñó y creó violines de cuerpo completo con características únicas. Aunque continuó utilizando la estructura básica de los Amati, finalmente se liberó y comenzó a crear sus propios modelos. Sus dos hijos, Francesco y Omobono, se unieron al negocio familiar alrededor de 1698, pero ninguno mostró el mismo interés y talento que su padre. Junto con otros ayudantes, el taller de Stradivari pudo producir más instrumentos a medida que el maestro se sumergió profundamente en la experimentación.
Stradivari fabricó sus mejores instrumentos de cuerdas desde 1700 hasta 1725. Durante su época dorada, creó violines cuyas cajas de sonido no se pueden comparar. Además, introdujo cierto tipo de barniz rojo intenso y bordes y esquinas anchas. Un estudio publicado en la revista la Nature, reveló que la madera de arce utilizada por este artesano en el siglo XVIII pudo haber sufrido un proceso químico para la preservación y aumento de la calidad del sonido.
Algunos de sus violines más famosos creados durante su época dorada incluyen el Lipinski 1715 y el Mesías 1716. Nunca vendido ni regalado, el Mesías permaneció con su creador hasta su muerte.
Un sonido tan especial
En 2011, un grupo de científicos de la Universidad de Minnesota gracias al uso de un escáner de tomografía axial, les permitió medir la densidad de la madera, el tamaño y forma, además del grosor de cada elemento, y reveló que pequeñas grietas, agujeros hechos por gusanos y otros defectos le dan un sonido único.
La información obtenida permitió crear tres copias casi exactas de un violín original que se encuentra en la biblioteca del Congreso de Estados Unidos y que data de 1704.
Sin embargo, en 2018 un equipo de la Universidad de Taiwan anunció saber la razón de su autenticidad, según su investigación, su valor reside en que el sonido de los violines imitan aspectos de la voz humana. Para confirmarlo, los investigadores pidieron a varios músicos profesionales que tocaran quince violines fabricados por el italiano, para comparar su sonido con el de las voces de otros tantos cantantes humanos.
Lo que descubrieron fue que los violines producían formantes –– picos en la intensidad del espectro de un sonido –– y tonos armónicos que se correspondían con los de la voz humana.
Precios de otro mundo
El más caro de ellos es el conocido como Lady Blunt. Debe su nombre a Anne Blunt, nieta de lord Byron –– poeta del movimiento del romanticismo británico –– y propietaria de tan preciado objeto durante 30 años. En 2011 pertenecía a la Nippon Music Foundation hasta que fue subastado en la casa Tarisio. El evento generó una enorme expectación entre los amantes de la música. Finalmente, Lady Blunt alcanzó el precio más alto de un Stradivarius: 15. 9 millones de dólares.
El Mesías tiene un valor estimado 20 millones de dólares. Propietario actual: Museo Ashmolean de Oxford. Es considerado el único violín considerado en estado de conservación perfecta.
El Mesías, apodado Le Messie permaneció en el taller de Antonio Stradivari hasta su fallecimiento. Después su hijo Paolo lo vendió al Conde de Cozio de Salabue, el año 1775. Durante un tiempo llevó el nombre Salabue. En el año 1827 lo compró Luigi Tarisio. Tras la muerte de éste lo adquirió el laudero parisino Jean Baptiste Vuillaume, junto con toda la colección de Tarisio.
Stradivarius: the most expensive violins in the world
Considered the best in the world, Stradivarius violins have been handmade by the luthier master – person who builds, adjusts or repairs string instruments – Antonio Stradivari. Born in Italy in 1644, its creator dedicated his life to the development and improvement of the violin – a string musical instrument about 60 cm long -. An artist who has achieved admiration and recognition since his death more than 250 years ago.
Manufacture of unique violins
Stradivari designed and manufactured over a thousand violins and instruments during his lifetime, almost 650 of which still exist today. These instruments are considered the best and are highly appreciated for their unique sound quality.
The first known violin of Stradivarius was made in 1666, when he was only 22 years old. Some historians emphasize that Antonio was apprenticed to Nicolo Amati, grandson of the violin maker Andrea Amati (1511-1577), who taught him the trade of wood.
During the beginning of his career, Stradivari created violins in the classic Amati style. However, even using traditional techniques, his skill and talent was impressive. For example, the Hellier violin produced by Stradivari in 1679 reveals his unparalleled ability to make a musical instrument.
In the 1680s, Stradivari designed and created full-bodied violins with unique characteristics. Although he continued to use the basic structure of the Amati, he finally freed himself and started creating his own models. His two sons, Francesco and Omobono, joined the family business around 1698, but none showed the same interest and talent as his father. Together with other assistants, the Stradivari workshop was able to produce more instruments as the teacher immersed himself deeply in experimentation.
Stradivari made his best string instruments from 1700 to 1725. During his golden age, he created violins whose sound boxes can not be compared. In addition, it introduced a certain type of intense red varnish and wide edges and corners. A study published in the journal Nature, revealed that the maple wood used by this artisan in the eighteenth century may have undergone a chemical process for the preservation and increase of sound quality.
Some of his most famous violins created during his golden age include the Lipinski 1715 and the Messiah 1716. Never sold or given away, the Messiah remained with his creator until his death.
Such a special sound
In 2011, a group of scientists from the University of Minnesota, using an axial tomography scanner, allowed them to measure the density of the wood, the size and shape, as well as the thickness of each element, and revealed that small cracks, holes Made by worms and other defects give it a unique sound.
The information obtained allowed to create three almost exact copies of an original violin that is in the library of the United States Congress and that dates from 1704.
However, in 2018 a team from the University of Taiwan announced to know the reason for its authenticity, according to his research, its value lies in the fact that the sound of the violins imitate aspects of the human voice. To confirm this, the researchers asked several professional musicians to play fifteen violins made by the Italian, to compare their sound with that of the voices of many other human singers.
What they discovered was that the violins produced formantes – peaks in the intensity of the spectrum of a sound – and harmonic tones that corresponded to those of the human voice.
Otherworldly prices
The most expensive of them is the one known as Lady Blunt. It owes its name to Anne Blunt, granddaughter of Lord Byron – poet of the British romantic movement – and owner of such a precious object for 30 years. In 2011 he belonged to the Nippon Music Foundation until it was auctioned at the Tarisio house. The event generated an enormous expectation among music lovers. Finally, Lady Blunt reached the highest price of a Stradivarius: 15. 9 million dollars.
The Messiah has an estimated value of 20 million dollars. Current owner: Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. It is considered the only violin considered in a perfect state of preservation.
The Messiah, nicknamed Le Messie remained in Antonio Stradivari’s studio until his death. After his son Paolo sold it to the Count of Cozio de Salabue, in 1775. For a time he carried the name Salabue. In the year 1827 Luigi Tarisio bought it. After the death of this one it acquired the parishian Jean Baptiste Vuillaume, along with all the collection of Tarisio.
